Innocents

I just returned from a trip with my wife to Paris. Our friends there were raving about a movie called "Dark Summer". So much so that my wife insisted (She's a huge Connie Nielsen fan).

I have to be honest my wife and I don't usually agree on our tastes in movies but the second this film started I was on the edge of my seat. The main star (Jean Hughes Anglade) was a French superstar from what i was told, but his portrayal of the cellist Huxley was sublime. The film opens up with him being interrogated by a detective portrayed by Keith David. (From Platoon, and Something About Mary, the guy is always great)

After getting in a car accident he meets Connie Nielsen's character, a nurse named Megan who nurses him back to health. In appreciation, and of course a mutual attraction, he takes her up on dinner and to meet the family.

Mia Kirschner played her crazy sister with frightening aplomb. At first the meal and their good times seems a given until he meets the father. (Played by the always- amazing Frank Langella!!) The father is sick and dyeing yet the power he still commanded over his daughters and the shocked Huxley was unmistakable.

The father dies and in an incredibly erotic interlude, Huxley makes love to Megan the whole while the sister watches!!!

I don't want to give away anymore but the cameos keep poring on and the twists and turns never stop. There are serial killers, country music and beautiful landscapes.

The main reason I am writing this review was that after I saw this film I couldn't stop thinking about it. The whole time i was on the plane i kept talking about it and my wife told me about this website and I had to tell the world.

I don't know where it is playing or if you can rent it but see this movie!!!

Sort of a mess. There is a lot right about this picture, but it's not enough to make up for a poor plot. The direction was OK, and the photography good. There were excellent acting performances all around. Connie Nielsen was awesome. Mia Kirshner was, too. These were good roles, these actresses got to really chew the scenery. Same goes for Anne Archer in a smaller part. Robert Culp and Frank Langella were sort of slumming, but were still good, as actors of their caliber should be. Even the French guy turned in a good one. But that isn't enough to make up for a terrible plot, depending on stunning coincidences. I found the ending highly anticlimactic, as well. Just can't recommend this one.

"Dark Summer" or "Innocents" as it was entitled on Showtime, is a journeyman B-movie about a French cellist (Anglade) driving across country who finds himself with a couple of beautiful traveling companions (Nielsen & Kirshner) who may be a lethal liability. Among the many flaws are a musical score which is as lacking in continuity as the screenplay; too many contrived situations which seems no more than weirdness for weirdnesses sake or shock value; a noticeable absence of a story arc or an emotional anchor for the audience; and a generally concocted presentation. Nonetheless, the film has some entertainment potential for the couch potato or fans of the players. (C)

This is a smart film. When I watched this film I found myself thoroughly engaged by it on many levels. But it's a very complex film, insofar as it not really about things that happen, so much as it is about what causes people to do the things they do.

The two girls, Megan and Dominique, do terrible things in this story, but what is lovely about this film is that it creates an opportunity for us to feel ambiguous about their actions. Are they justified in their actions or should we judge them harshly for their deeds? Society would judge them, the law would judge them - but how do we judge them as human beings, trying to survive the chaos and emotional turmoil of life? Is it rational to judge them? These are all good questions - and in the end, The Innocents becomes more than a simple story. The Innocents is a Greek Tragedy by any other name. Its classic issues are at the core of the fabric of humanity. It's tough material and strong and bold.

The protagonist, Gerard, who travels with the girls on this so-called "innocent" journey, is caught in a web from which he cannot extricate himself. Should he try, the girls will pin their deeds on him. It's the perfect platform for a crime. The more the innocent man objects and tries to pull away, the more guilty he will look. In the sense, there is a "Hitchcock" homage at play here, for those who know the genre.

On the surface these are very nice girls, but underneath, they are damaged, angry and in fact, given the wrong set of circumstances, very dangerous. This film leads you on an emotional roller-coaster and no matter what anyone may say, this is extremely well-written and most unpredictable. In an era of Hollywood film-making where plots are derivative and endings are known by an audience twenty minutes into the film, The Innocents (called Dark Summer in Europe)breaks the mold. There is nothing predictable about "The Innocents". Not at all.

The actors are extraordinary, including Jean-Hugues Anglade, Connie Neilson, Mia Kirshner, Anne Archer, Frank Langella, Keith David and Robert Culp. You don't see cinema like this very often in America (because this may be too intellectually and emotionally demanding)and to that extent I am positive that certain reviewers may not get this film, it's their loss.

I saw the European DVD of this movie, as well, and there are many more scenes than are in the U.S. version. It's quite interesting to see the additional scenes and definitely more satisfying.

The Innocents is a very smart, cunning, emotionally well-crafted piece of film-making and high regards to those who had the vision to back it. I hope to see many more films from this filmmaker.

I have to say the first time I saw this movie I was left stunned.

This is superbly photographed, well acted and very unpredictable road movie thriller.

This is one movie where I honestly could not predict what was going to happen next. An excellent cast headed by French actor Jean Hugues Anglade (Betty Blue, Killing Zoe) the very luminous Connie Nielsen (Gladiator, The Ice Harvest) & sexy Mia Kirshner (The Black Dahlia, Mad City)play two sisters in a very unusual road movie.

The supporting cast is excellent too with the likes of Frank Langella, Anne Archer, Robert Culp & Keith David.

The storyline throws up one surprise after another as the three go on the road after the sister's father passes, quite quickly though things take a very dark turn and Gerard Huxley (Jean Hugues Anglade) begins to wonder if he has made a grave mistake.

The music in the film is good and the locations are beautifully photographed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and really cannot understand the low score. I give it 7/10